RIIFF ANNOUNCES 2011 SCREENPLAY COMPETITION WINNERS

.... 364 submissions received from throughout the United States and across the globe

(PROVIDENCE, RI) • Carla Maria Verdino-Süllwold from Brunswick, Maine was the Grand Prize Winner for this year's 2011 FLICKERS: Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF) Screenplay Competition. The awards announcement was made Tuesday by George T. Marshall, RIIFF Executive Director. The winning screenplay “Raising Rufus: A Maine Love Story” is a tender and tragic love story about a childless older couple, their Newfoundland dog, and their passion for the coast of Maine. After forty years of a devoted, but troubled marriage, they adopt Rufus and embark on a series of heartwarming, heroic and ultimately healing adventures.

“This screenplay is something that should be made. Reading it, you can literally envision the actual film,” said J. Scott Oberacker, RIIFF Educational Outreach Director.

“The outstanding quality of this year's submissions and the level of creativity, made for difficult decision-making on the part of our international group of judges,” added Oberacker. “Our adjudication team read 364 screenplay entries this year, the largest entry base in the competition’s history. Each submission was analyzed and scored according to a set of criteria, including Character, Dialogue, Setting, Plot and Technique.

“After extensive reading and deliberation among the judges, prizewinners were chosen in five different categories: Main Competition, Gay and Lesbian (GLBT), Local (New England) Focus, Horror, and Short Screenplay,” she added. “Each will come with its own set of awards.”

“We could not be more pleased with the selection of this year’s winners,” noted George T. Marshall. “As this competition continues to grow and expand, we have access to some of the world’s brightest and most talented writers in the craft.”

THE 2011 PRIZE WINNERS:

GRAND PRIZE:

Raising Rufus: A Maine Love Story

Written by Carla Maria Verdino-Süllwold (USA)

FIRST PLACE:

Anderson Falls

Written by Giles Daoust (Belgium)

(Tied with)

Blood Relative

Written by Corey Bodoh-Creed (USA)

SECOND PLACE:

Dear Brother

Written by Kesav Wable (USA)

BEST LOCAL (NEW ENGLAND):

GRAND PRIZE:

Departed Harvest

Written by JoDa Hodge (USA)

FIRST PLACE:

Acrobat

Written by Pete Jones (USA)

BARREN BRANCHES GLBT COMPETITION:

GRAND PRIZE:

Sadie Hawkins Day

Written by Stacy Keane (USA)

FIRST PLACE:

As Luck Would Have It

Written by: Anna Forsyth (UNITED KINGDOM)

BEST SHORT SCRIPT:

GRAND PRIZE:

Last Exit to Normal

Written by John McHale (USA)

FIRST PLACE:

Pass/Fail

Written by Caitlin McCarthy (USA)

BEST HORROR SCRIPT:

GRAND PRIZE:

The Portrait

Written by Matthew J. Marshall (USA)

(Tied with)

Painkillers

Written by Giles Daoust (Belgium)

Prizes awarded to the winners of the screenplay competition (which vary with the specific screenplay category) include: web placement services from Inktip.com, a free year of screenplay promotion services to the winners, through ScreenwriterShowcase.com; a 1-year Writers Database membership from Script Pipeline; Full Script Delivery to over 3,000 industry professionals comprised of studio executives, producers, agents etc. through ScriptDelivery.net; Final Draft Screenwriting Suites from Final Draft software; and passes to the 2012 FLICKERS: Rhode Island International Film Festival and the ScriptBiz™ Screenwriter’s Workshop. The Grand Prize winner from the main competition will be brought to Providence to attend the 2012 ScriptBiz program, where their screenplay will be a central focus of the program, plus receive a private script consultation and an official award on RIIFF’s Opening Night Celebration. Lodging will also be provided.

The 2011 Semi-Finalists:

Acrobat, Written by Pete Jones (USA)

Anderson Falls, Written by Giles Daoust (Belgium)

Archery, Written by Jeff Bender and David Englander (USA)

As Luck Would Have It, Written by Anna Forsyth (United Kingdom)

Blood Relative, Written by Corey Bodoh-Creed, (USA)

Dam California, Written by Isaac Piché (USA)

Dead Girls, Written by Gianluca Cavaleri (USA)

Dear Brother, Written by Kesav Wable, (USA)

Departed Harvest, Written by JoDa Hodge (USA)

Drum, Written by Kenneth Lemm (USA)

Follow the Leader, Written by Sean Armstrong (USA)

Good People, Written by Sarah Adina Smith (USA)

Hancock Park, Written by Steven Wolfson (USA)

Holy Hell in Cuba, Written by Roberto Marrero, (USA)

Last Exit to Normal, Written by John McHale, (USA)

Love in a Windy City, Written by David Brett (Ireland, United Kingdom)

The mission of the Rhode Island International Film Festival is to discover and empower filmmakers. Held in Providence, and at locations throughout the state, RIIFF is one of only 65 film festivals worldwide that is a qualifying event for the Oscars. It is also New England’s largest film festival. Its innovative programming, cultivated industry ties, and loyal audiences have made the Festival a strategic and desirable platform for film premieres, drawing hundreds of independent filmmakers from around the globe. The next Festival will take place August 2-12, 2012. For more information about the festival, please visit www.rifilmfest.org.

As part of the awards for
the RIIFF Screenplay Competition, top winning contestants
will receive from Ink Tip™ (Writers' Script Network):

1) An e-mail announcement about your winning screenplay
to about 6,500 industry professionals.
2) Placement of at least your logline and synopsis
on our password protected web site. You may also place
the treatment and/or script.
3) Placement of a second script on the site.
4) Include a logline (pitch) for your winning screenplay
in our printed publication, which is snail-mailed
to about 5,000 Industry Professionals. http://www.inktip.com/

SCRIPT PIPELINE WRITER'S DATABASE MEMBERSHIP With the Script Pipeline Writers Database membership (valued at $99.95), writers may search through
over 1,000 companies looking for material, some of which they can query direct via the site. In addition, they will receive free unlimited
query/logline review from a Script Pipeline analyst, as well as discounts on notes from our Writers Workshop.
Script Pipeline has over 1,000 companies in our database, and approximately 200 industry contacts receiving annual contest finalist loglines and scripts we give a "Recommend." These companies include both mid-level and major management and production companies, and a handful of top agencies.